Celebrating the unacknowledged and unappreciated life of women in our modern materialistic ego-driven culture, recognizing her unvalued contribution in nourishing and upholding the very fabric and foundation of life and civilization in the planet. The purpose is not to put women in a higher pedestal nor to emasculate men, but to arrive at a deeper understanding of the role of feminine in conscious human evolution, wise understanding and gender communication at all levels.

10/01/2013

Buddha is Still Teaching One Dharma ...

Aspiring Bodhisattvas walk through many paths (Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana) and wear many Hats (yellow, red, black and such). It struck me when Dalai Lama wearing a red baseball cap remarked "Buddha wears no hat" in a large public gathering at Ann Arbor, Michigan.

There are many cultural expressions within Buddhism, yet Dharma is One Truth without relativity.
Dhamma is not male dhamma, female dhamma or garudhamma. On Breaking Through Gender Ignorance, Garudhammas to Mind of Enlightenment....

Venerable Lekshe Tsomo explores the origins and extraordinary implications of the contemporary Buddhist women’s movement from her perspective as co-creator of Sakyadhita, the most influential global network of Buddhist women, and as convener of bi-annual international conferences on Buddhist women where scholars, practitioners, artists, and activists exchange ideas and inspiration. Buddhist feminism and activism is good for deep social transformation, because it is non-violent and reconciles unwholesome barriers within (the various yanas) Buddhism and outside. Mind's fixation with 'form' (first of five skandhas) and Sakkaya dhitti(ego and personlity view) is a barrier to awakening to ultimate freedom and happiness (Nibbana).According to Joseph Goldstein, "The defining characteristic of this emerging Western Buddhism is a basic pragmatism, rather than an adherence to some philosophical system or sectarian viewpoint. One Dharma of the West is an allegiance to a very simple question: What works? What works to free the mind from suffering? What works to accomplish the heart of compassion? What works to awaken us from the dream states of our ignorance? Do we sometimes water down, or even leave behind, the essence of the teachings simply because they take us beyond our Western physical or psychological comfort zone?" More on One Dharma.
Even in the Church, it is important to ask oneself: what presence does the woman have?Women are called to service and not servitude..it pleases me to think that the Church is not ‘il Chiesa’ [‘the Church’, masculine]: it is ‘la Chiesa’ [feminine]. The Church is a woman! The Church is a mother! And that’s beautiful, eh? We have to think deeply about this.”
-- Mulieris Dignitatem Text, Vatican RadioIn the Secular world, citing “unfinished business,” former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged to lead an effort to evaluate the progress made in empowering women and girls worldwide, at a Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) panel in New York on September 25, 2013.Buddha described the path to enlightenment is difficult as it requires one to swim against the current of the stream (of mass consciousness). Going against the stream (patisotagami) means going upstream to the source, much like schools of salmons swim upstream to the source water to die. It also means going against the social, cultural, brain conditionings and personality habits that are unwholesome, biased and corrupt.

Brahma dwells in homes where children respect their parents. - Buddha, Itivuttaka

"To be female is to have the dukkha of a female, to be male is to have the dukkha of a male. Children have the dukkha of children, and adults have the dukkha of adults, as long as there is grasping and clinging."

- Buddhadasa Bhikkhu

Let us ride our horse of confidence

Use our bow and arrow of genuineness

Develop our gentleness, so we need not destroy our world.

- Chyogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

"Most Buddhists seem unaware of the critical role women can play and do not seem to care about women’s disadvantaged status. Buddhists seem to believe their own propaganda that women and men are equal in Buddhism, and are blinded to the blatant inequalities that currently exist. Some Buddhists pay lip service to women's importance, but institutional structures do not reflect any commitment to women's advancement or to women's equal participation. In fact, the mantra that women and men are equal in Buddhism acts as a kind of smokescreen to mask inequities that are clearly visible. Women continue to be sidelined in public forums, even by educated and otherwise compassionate people, both women and men""

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"Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are only princesses who are waiting to see us act just once with beauty and courage. perhaps everything terrible is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that needs our love." - Rilke